


strawberry shortcake exchange

by asphodellae



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Baking, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, strawberry shortcakes as a segway to intimacy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:13:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29651142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asphodellae/pseuds/asphodellae
Summary: "I like spending time with you.”Oh god, what the fuck? That’s so sappy. What the hell does he even say in reply to that? The cake in front of him is less sweet than the words settling on his skin like powdered sugar.“Don’t say that,” Tsukishima says flatly—if only to hide his flustered state. “You sound like you’re going to die.”“Heehee, I won’t die! I have too much to live for. Like this cake we made. Delicious,” Tendou beams at him knowingly.
Relationships: Tendou Satori/Tsukishima Kei
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	strawberry shortcake exchange

**Author's Note:**

  * For [origamigf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/origamigf/gifts).



> *holds rarepair* i just think they're neat

Given his sweet tooth, Tsukishima Kei has a pretty solid judgment of his favorite sweets. The best strawberry shortcakes are fluffy, light, and just sugary enough to complement the already sweet strawberry. On the negative end of the spectrum sits a strawberry shortcake that had been so cloyingly sweet that he hadn’t had the heart to finish it. It had gone into the trash not even an hour later. On the positive end of the spectrum, Tsukishima’s favorite strawberry shortcake is a gift from Tendou. He’s visiting Japan because he’s thinking about opening up a shop back in his hometown, and bumps into Tsukishima as he’s on his morning run.

“Wow, Mr. Vanilla,” Tendou grins at him, “I wasn’t expecting to see you around here! Then again, you live here, but still!”

Tsukishima, having been on a roll from his run, gets hit with the wave of exhaustion that comes from stopping, and he grunts softly in reply, too out of breath for anything else.

Tendou laughs, warm with recognition. “Let’s catch up! I can make you something as an apology for interrupting your run.”

Tsukishima raises a brow at him. “Ushijima-san said you make chocolates.”

“Now now, young crow,” Tendou replies, “Waka-kun’s right, but there are only so many things you can make with chocolate alone. Lemme show you!”

You know what? Fuck it, Tsukishima decides, it’s his cheat day.

“Sure. I’m sweaty and gross though, so I hope you don’t mind me showering when I get home.”

“Of course not! Now, what’s your favorite dessert?”

* * *

The sound of running water fills Tsukishima’s ears. Eyes closed, he lets the water fall onto his skin, carrying away the sweat and grime from his run. He cards soapy hands through his hair, scrubbing his scalp in lazy circles. He breathes slowly, relaxedly. Showers have always been a form of meditation for him. 

Ah, Tendou is here. He should probably hurry.

Tsukishima exits his bathroom freshly clothed and with a towel draped over his head. He pads down his apartment hallway, lured by the scent of strawberries and baked sugar. He’s pretty sure his steps are almost soundless, but Tendou turns and smiles at him from his kitchen anyway.

“Welcome back, Vanilla-kun,” Tendou says. There’s a dot of flour on his cheek.

“Did you already finish?” Tsukishima asks, absentmindedly rubbing his head with the towel.

“Not yet, shortcake is a careful thing.”

Careful, huh? Tsukishima fights down a smile. He’s never heard someone call shortcakes careful before. He hears “delicate” all the time, but careful? That’s new. It sounds nice.

“Wanna help?”

If Tsukishima smiles, Tendou sees nothing.

“Sure.”

Tendou moves with ease in his kitchen, Tsukishima realizes. Does it come with the experience of being a chef?

“Hey, where’s your milk frother?”

“Are you assuming I have a milk frother?”

“Yes I am, do you?”

Tsukishima snorts at Tendou’s correct intuition. Some things never change. “Yes, it’s right here.”

Ah, Tsukishima corrects himself, Tendou isn't a chef. He’s a chocolatier and baker—a famous one at that, but only Tsukishima knows where his milk frother is. He turns away so Tendou doesn’t see his smile.

“Wait, why do you need a milk frother?”

“Oh, it’s a surprise tool that’ll help us later,” Tendou replies easily, “Anyway, what’s life like here? The day-to-day routine here that I remember is way different from Paris.”

Tsukishima thinks out loud. “Well, now that I’m playing for the Sendai Frogs, most of my time is reserved for volleyball and conditioning.”

“Do you still hate exercise?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

Tendou laughs at that, loud and free. The genuine joy and amusement in his laughter remind Tsukishima of summer chimes.

“When I’m not doing that and other life stuff, I volunteer at the museum.”

“You do? What do you do there?”

“I’m a guide.”

Tendou’s eyes widen almost comically, tilting his head to the side like how a puppy would when discovering something brand new. The image of Tendou being a puppy almost makes Tsukishima laugh. “A guide?! As in, you talk to people?”

Tsukishima snorts. “Now when did I give off the impression that I don’t like talking to people?”

“Oh, nothing,” Tendou says lightly, “just our entire first meeting.”

Tsukishima raises an eyebrow. “We were rivals.”

“And you were very sassy all throughout the match. Was my intuition wrong?”

“...No.”

Tendou grins. “That’s what I thought. So, is being a guide any fun?”

Tsukishima launches into a tale of one day at the museum, where a group of grade-schoolers on a field trip had been his responsibility for the whole day. The kids had been wonderful, finding joy and interest in various exhibits all around the building. It hadn’t been hard to get all the kids excited about the dinosaur exhibit, especially after letting them into the interactive area. Truthfully, it was a playground, but there were opportunities for Tsukishima to run experiments with the group in the sandbox. When Tsukishima had pressed the secret button on the side and made the volcano erupt, the kids had run away, laughing and screaming with joy. _More, more,_ they had cried, _more, big brother Tsukishima! Show us something even cooler!_

Tendou listens with rapt attention, his hands busy with making the cake all the while. The thought of Tsukishima having fun surrounded by a group of small children brings a bright smile to his face.

“I’m glad you liked the kids, Tsukishima.”

“I didn’t,” Tsukishima interjects quickly, “I just tolerated them. I had to make them see that history was fun somehow.”

“Sure,” Tendou replies smoothly. It’s a tad too smooth, and Tsukishima knows that something is going on behind that smile of his, but Tendou is—expectedly, mischievously—tight-lipped.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing!” Tendou’s gaze is soft. “Anyway, since we both work with people, what’s your worst incident?”

“Oh god, not that. There was this drunk guy—“

* * *

“And when I pointed at the ‘ _do not touch_ ’ sign,” Tendou waves his hands around, now free from the task of baking, his shirt narrowly missing the slice of cake in front of him as he leans in to tell his story, “she scoffed at me—she scoffed at me!—and told me that she knows the owner and that the owner lets her do it all the time, and I just _looked_ at her.” 

“No way,” Tsukishima says, reveling in the gossip, “what did you say?”

“I said, ‘lady, _I’m_ the owner of the store, and I’ve never met you in my entire life!’”

Tsukishima swallows his bite of shortcake to let out a gasp. “What did she do next?”

“She—hold on—“ Tendou pops a strawberry slice into his mouth, eating it quickly, "She ran out of the store! I don’t get people sometimes. I thought adults would grow out of the whole ‘bullying others to get what they want’ phase by her age.”

“Ugh, tell me about it. I’m just glad no one on the Frogs is like that.”

“It must be the mutual love for volleyball,” Tendou muses.

“Probably.”

With that, the conversation hits a good stopping point. There’s still cake on their plates, and Tsukishima...

Tsukishima likes the thing they have going. He doesn’t know what it is, but it’s warm in his chest and familiar like home, and he wants more of it.

“Where’s your hotel? I could drive you back if it’s far,” Tsukishima says, cutting himself off by eating another piece of cake.

“Let me pull up the address.”

“...That’s thirty minutes away.”

“To be fair, I was out scouting locations for a Japan branch of my chocolate shop. It’s popular enough here to get imported and sold by a few places in Tokyo, so I decided to open one in my hometown for easier access.”

“Did you find a location yet?” Tsukishima asks, glancing at the night sky through his living room window.

“I’ve been here all day, so nope! I don’t regret it one bit, though. You’re fun, Tsukishima,” Tendou grins at him, “and I like spending time with you.”

Oh god, what the fuck? That’s so sappy. What the hell does he even say in reply to that? The cake in front of him is less sweet than the words settling on his skin like powdered sugar.

“Don’t say that,” Tsukishima says flatly—if only to hide his flustered state. “You sound like you’re going to die.”

“Heehee, I won’t die! I have too much to live for. Like this cake we made. Delicious,” Tendou beams at him knowingly.

“I... don’t have practice tomorrow, either. I could help you look since I took up your time today.”

Tendou hums.

“Equivalent exchange, hmm?”

Tsukishima does not blush. He does not. Tendou is a friend. They’re catching up. He’s helping a friend. Tsukishima looks to the side, humming in agreement.

“I have a guest room,” he offers.

Tendou grins. “Sure. But let’s talk a little longer! The night is still young!”

Tsukishima smiles. “Right. Sure.”

Tendou takes this opportunity to sneakily reveal a bowl filled exclusively with milk froth, with the frother smoothly,— _where in the hell did Tendou hide that?_ —in hand. Instantly, Tsukishima knows exactly what Tendou has planned. He shifts his footing, an attempt at subtly avoiding the inevitable mess. He was tricked, backstabbed, perhaps even bamboozled! Tsukishima will not stand for this. It’s a shame that Tendou fully means to have Tsukishima _sit_.

“This is my house,” Tsukishima hisses, no bite in his words.

“ _I_ have your only milk frother,” Tendou shoots back, a Cheshire grin adorning his face, “and a lot of ammo.”

Let it be known that Tsukishima Kei does _not_ emit a shriek as Tendou brandishes the dreaded milk frother and chases him around the entire apartment. The neighbors don’t hear shit.

**Author's Note:**

> hello! thank you for humoring me and reading this fic! the time for me to post this is long overdue, but this was originally posted to twitter as a threadfic to cheer up my friend Caw. everyone loves a little bit of fluff for the sake of fluff. i hope it cheered you up a little bit too!
> 
> come scream with me on [twitter!](https://twitter.com/asphodellae)


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